The Abyss. Flickr/ Jamiecat. Some rights reserved.Disbelief has been a common reaction to the UK public’s decision last week to leave the EU. While politicians have been addressing the problem of how to minimise the damage connected with the painful political divorce, the European public should carefully examine the processes that have facilitated the current situation. Think them through and talk.
The “Brexit-state-of-mind” is by no means a uniquely British problem, but it is part of a wider issue of political polarisation afflicting numerous societies around the world, in Europe and beyond. Poland, for instance, has been long divided into two camps which seem to disagree on every issue, starting with abortion, the role of the church, migration, history and the relationship with its neighbours. The anti-immigrant Law and Justice Party has successfully stirred up anti-refugee and EU-skeptic sentiments, having made calls for greater national sovereignty within the EU. The opposite side, the Committee for the Defence of Democracy social movement, has organised mass protests against the growing authoritarian and illiberal tendencies of the ruling party. Families and friendships have been breaking up over political divisions and there seems to be little or no room for dialogue.
Other countries like Greece, Austria, France – but also Ukraine and many others – have faced a growing polarisation of opinions. In the US, in a highly divisive political campaign, the openly racist Donald Trump has received the Republican presidential nomination.
